clumsy

adjective

clum·sy ˈkləm-zē

clumsier; clumsiest

Synonyms of clumsy next

: lacking dexterity, nimbleness, or grace

clumsy fingers

: lacking tact or subtlety

a clumsy joke

: awkward or inefficient in use or construction : unwieldy

a clumsy contraption

criticized her sentence for its clumsy construction

clumsily

ˈkləm-zə-lē

adverb

clumsiness

ˈkləm-zē-nəs

noun

Choose the Right Synonym for clumsy

awkward, clumsy, maladroit, inept, gauche mean not marked by ease (as of performance, movement, or social conduct).

awkward is widely applicable and may suggest unhandiness, inconvenience, lack of muscular control, embarrassment, or lack of tact.

periods of awkward silence

clumsy implies stiffness and heaviness and so may connote inflexibility, unwieldiness, or lack of ordinary skill.

a clumsy mechanic

maladroit suggests a tendency to create awkward situations.

a maladroit politician

inept often implies complete failure or inadequacy.

a hopelessly inept defense attorney

gauche implies the effects of shyness, inexperience, or ill breeding.

felt gauche and unsophisticated at formal parties

Examples of clumsy in a Sentence

I'm sorry about spilling your wine—that was very clumsy of me. I have very clumsy hands and tend to drop things. She made a clumsy attempt at a joke.

Recent Examples on the Web But reality is sure to be clumsier at times, in part because the Ravens will be road-testing their sleek, new craft with real games at stake. —

Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 4 Sep. 2023 Resisting the kind of clumsy exposition where people describe their backstory (which might have easily fit into that AA meeting), Franco prefers to reveal his characters through action. —

Peter Debruge, Variety, 8 Sep. 2023 While some coming out stories may result in Hallmark-movie-caliber embraces with the fam — and genuine, even if clumsy attempts by parents to relate to their newly out children — others can result in profound isolation. —

Suzy Exposito, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023 Analysis of his MiG-25 rapidly dispelled exaggerated Western fears of the extremely fast but clumsy Foxbat. —

Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 30 Aug. 2023 Harness the power of dance with this toe-tapping film about a clumsy student who turns a bunch of fellow misfits into a dance troupe in order to attract the attention of her dream college. —

Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, 22 Aug. 2023 Then, as now, like all of us, I was brought here through a clumsy series of human foibles and thus am conditioned to read the undersides of storms edging up a coast. —

Major Jackson, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023 Despite wall-to-wall narration by Haddish (at her most raunchy), the movie does a clumsy job of telling a not-very-complicated story. —

Peter Debruge, Variety, 17 Aug. 2023 True, this rig is chubby for a unibody, and it's afflicted with the same traits that render all SUVs clumsy: a high ground clearance and a high center of gravity. —

Steven Cole Smith, Car and Driver, 6 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clumsy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.